Shoes & electricity: the silent health hazard & what we can do about it
We are electrical beings, living on an electrical planet, and our connection is vital for our health and wellbeing. Clinton Ober
Background
We wore leather on our feet prior to the invention of rubber soles in the late 1800s which appeared to be the perfect choice for extended durability. It was understood during the mass production which ensued that rubber served as an insulator for electricity but never did anyone question the health implications of permanently insulating humans.
Bio-electric beings
Humans run on bio-electricity. Our cells are designed to perform every day functions in an environment of -20 to -25 millivolts while to repair and heal they need an environment of -50 millivolts. Further to this our nervous system & brain rely on their ability to transmit electric pulses.
So, we have a bio-electric body with a small fluctuating voltage which needs to be kept within a specific range for optimum functionality.
The voltage of our body is constantly changing depending on the environment we are in... and what we are wearing on our feet.
Electrical equipment
It is easy to run tests at home which show clearly how electrical equipment affects our natural voltage. If you don't believe me watch this film in which YouTuber 'Environmental Radiation' increases his voltage x30 by placing his body next to an electricity cable.
Please note that electricity cables are all around us, most of them hidden in the walls or hanging over our heads in the streets.
It should also be noted that the further away from the ground we go, the more our voltage deviates from its optimum performance range.
Perhaps you can remember a time when you didn't feel as connected whilst living off the ground in an apartment building?
Health implications
Potential health concerns about power lines were first raised in a 1979 study which associated increased risk of childhood leukemia with residential proximity to power lines.
Since then this study seems to have been forgotten and further studies have concluded that our proximity to electricity has no significant effect on our bodies whist at the same time they do acknowledge that it "cannot be recognised as entirely safe."
Feels somewhat inconclusive to me.
Clinton Ober
After a lifetime working with electricity Ober became sick and was close to death when he awoke one morning with the words 'become the opposite charge' in his mind and a great desire to do something constructive that would benefit mankind.
He returned to health and began studying the bio-electrical relationship humans have with their surroundings. He discovered the human body could be neutralised of any charge, by way of a ground connection, resulting in a more functional nervous system.
After observing the effects on humans when they were subjected to specific amounts of EMF he found he could not reproduce the same effects in animal testing and it dawned on him in this moment that our shoes were insulating us. He concluded that because animals do not sleep in elevated beds insulated from the ground and nor do they wear shoes, they were effectively discharging excess static buildup all the time. Unlike us humans.
Earthed bedsheets
Ober's first step towards creating a solution to our insulation problem was in the form of a sheet woven with small silver fibres which feed into a single cable.
The cable could be plugged into the earth of your electricity socket or directly into the soil with a long metal pin. Assuming your electrical wiring has been set up correctly, either way should be just as effective.
During his research Ober found that 85% of his test subjects fell asleep quicker when they were grounded and 93% felt they slept better. They all expressed a marked feeling of restfulness upon awakening, less muscle stiffness and a drastic reduction in back related problems.
I have had one of these sheets for three years and can confirm its effectiveness though personally I choose to plug into the ground itself as I don't always know with certainty the earthing of a home's wiring is effective. On the contrary, there have been a number of occasions when I am sure it isn't!
Product expansion
Since then many more products have been added to Ober's Groundology range to include recovery bags, mats, bands & patches all of which must be attached to your earthed cable.
Footwear is the latest item in his product range and many competing companies are now popping up to take on this uncharted territory.
If you are looking for some stylish options check out Pluggz
Ober has no interest in fashion so has focused his footwear solely on sandals. He calls them Groundals.
The Groundal flower test
It has been demonstrated many times over how grounded cut flowers will last longer than non grounded. Ober is the first however to do the same experiment using footwear on a grounding mat.
You may ask how these flowers are relevant to this subject and I would answer by telling you that just like flowers we have cells and when we are grounded these cells are more effective at keeping us alive.
Further evidence
David Wolfe takes a closer look at the blood of four subjects from his audience before and after grounding in this 1min video.
The results are undeniable.
The Earth is a massive reservoir of negatively charged free electrons. Without a connection to this reservoir, the cells in our body are unable to balance the positive charge which results from things like electron-deficient free radicals. The effect of excess positive charge in the blood can be seen very clearly by the way in which the cells are attracted to clump together. Clinton Ober
I particularly enjoy what he goes on to say after this...
On a less tangible level, it may also be that the connection we make with the Earth actually carries information, and helps align us with the greater network of intelligence of our planet.
Indeed we have disconnected with our Mother Earth in so many ways and only now in this age of shared information are we beginning to reclaim our understanding of this situation.
It is my belief that we are standing upon the greatest healing tool available to us and one only has to place their bare feet upon the ground to benefit from it. Which would make the combination of shoes & electricity one of the least understood health risks today.
Bare feet
The simplest way to maintain the correct voltage is to stand barefoot on the earth. When we are earthed in this manner the electricity cables around us have no effect for we are constantly discharging any excess charge in our bodies.
I have not worn shoes for five years
The soles of my feet are tough now and there is nothing to fear. The streets are much less littered with glass than you might imagine. To look at my life as a solitary case study is far from statistical evidence but I can tell you with certainty that it has been elevated on so many levels since removing my shoes. Both physically and spiritually.
In Conclusion
Just like crypto, the idea of earthing is still in its infancy and it will be some time yet before it is widely accepted.
It has however already found its way into competitive sports, now being used to speed up the overnight recovery of Tour de France cyclists.
It is likely we will see more and more evidence which validates Ober's research and an ever growing range of earthing products. In this modern world it is rare one has the opportunity to spend their day walking barefoot on the beach, so we must rely on these inventive products if we are to find our natural balance again with this ancient playground upon which we walk.
In the end the answer is as it always is
to find our true balance we must return a basic connection with nature.
Whilst these earthing devices are no doubt effective,
the most effective way of all is the simplest.
Further research
If you want to learn more about this I highly recommend Ober's wonderful book.
He offers the book as a free PDF here
Or if you are more of a video person I suggest this collection of testimonials from people who claim earthing has sped up their healing or enhanced their vitality.
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Don’t miss a day :)
Excellent! Love this :)
Getting closer to nature is what can help us have healthy minds and healthy bodies! I feel like it's slowly becoming a trend, which makes me very happy. I'm trying to "Earth myself" as often as possible and go to the park for my morning meditation whenever I can.
You are on the perfect path :)
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I have never heard of this before but it makes perfect sense when you stop and think about it for less than a minute.
I guess that is why, in spiritual circles, connecting with the earth and grounding is so expounded...
Gotta keep an open mind I reckon ~ which leads me to sharing my latest GIF with you here, (hope you don't mind), it is laterally relevant me thinks.
xox
Great gif! Course I don't mind ;)
It's a cool subject hey, so often overlooked. And it has been really interesting to observe how challenged people become at the sight of my bare feet. Even I have struggled at times to maintain my belief due to the requirements of society. I wore them at a friends wedding recently for example!
Nothing is more refreshing than going for a swim in the lake. Imagine how good that would be for grounding. I always just thought it was the refreshing feeling of the cool water on a hot day but maybe grounding had something to do with it as well.
I also heard peeing outdoors is excellent for grounding. The salt in your pee is an excellent conductor. The connection doesn't last long but it would be a strong connection. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how you look at it) it's not socially acceptable to pee outdoors in the city.
When I was in the country I would have been well grounded. In the city I am insulated from ground nearly all of the time. I'd be hard pressed to think of an instance when my bare feet have touched the ground in Edmonton.
Thank you for your great insights here! I hadn't thought of peeing outside! Something I enjoy doing very much, though I always told myself it was to not waste water flushing a toilet.
Sounds like a grounding mat would be perfect for you. Or a sheet an a mat? One under your desk and one on your bed :)
I absoultely love grounding/earthing and have been doing it since my early childhood as I intuitively knew that I need to ground myself now and then or I will feel dizzy due to high energy in upward/higher chakras as compared to lower chakras. Thank you so much for sharing! ☺💚
Fantastic you were guided in this wisdom from such an early age.
I wonder if a long time ago that was my instinct too, but shoes (and very strict schools) were forced upon me and I quickly forgot? Perhaps that is how it is for many?
The ticket for me is my constantly hot feet. I have to sleep with them out of the covers at night and wearing shoes is incredibly uncomfortable after 15mins because of the ever growing heat. Strange though that I only noticed this five years ago! Anyway... better late than never ;)
probably not as good but i run stranded copper from the insoles to the bottom of my boots
Excellent work! I have considered doing the same for a long time but never attempted it.
Well why not? I can say my foot pain is gone. I also switched to using crocs when I'm not working, that helped a lot too. I have spent my life working on my feet and now finally relief.
Yes! Great write up! I love going barefoot! Four years ago we moved to this place and I haven't really been barefoot. I have even prayed and felt the Lord lead me to be barefoot more often, but I can't. If you were barefoot all the time, do you ever deal with cold temperatures?
Interesting to hear how you felt the Lord leading you to this. Perhaps you should invest into an earthing sheet if it is too cold?
I lived in the UK when I first took my shoes off. And it can get pretty cold there. I appear to be blessed with hot feet, so hot they cannot be under the covers at night, no matter the temperature.
If you practice stepping into the cold outdoors for longer and longer periods perhaps this will help? Even just a few moments is theoretically enough to discharge your body built-up electricity.
Yeah! I talked with my wife about those sheets! I am a huge believer in foot health and spine health. I am going to try to be more barefoot, more often.
Your mitochondrial energy in the cells in your feet must be amazing! You have unspired me!
Ground for sure, it will help! If you are fighting spinal pain (I have had 3 spine surgeries) take tumeric with a little black pepper internally, and wipe on Comfrey externally. Best herbal remedy combination for back pain.
I have seen enough data on this from several sources to believe this ia a good option to enhance health. The only concern I have is hard grounded silver connection in a bed. I would want to see a current limiting resistance between the body and ground, like an electrostatic bench. This is a safety issue, BUT grounding is a great idea, and I intend to do it! Thanks.
Yes, there is something which doesn't feel quite right to me about connecting myself to the mains. Hence the grounding rod option.
Hope you are able to give it a try.
I already have the arm straps in my ESD workbench. It has 68K ohm resistor to ground (normal value for safety) to protect me from direct grounding while I do repairs on pcbs. I can use that wristband to power ground while I sleep. I used to use a cathodic half cell to measure cathodic protection voltage on an oil pipeline. It was a calibrated reference, filled with a copper sulphate liquid. Have you played with the black foam used in electronics, to protect components? What about carbon fiber, like they repair aircraft with for sheet material?
This is all very interesting! I am building a lake house right now, and I think I will include a ground rod in the crawl space under the bed. I will be flooding it with oxygen at night, in the current design, for the health benefits. This looks like a good, compatible, addition.
Sounds amazing! Hope to see you posting lots of pics :)
I have a lot of basic repairs to do to make the house usable, but when done, I plan on making a large outbuilding for my business and machine shop. I intend to run the house (including AC) on solar and wind, with a 20 kw batteries I am building now. Will round it out with an underground greenhouse. Should be interesting, and I will film it all. I consult for a living, so sometimes work interferes with my playtime, LOL!
BTW, add a resistor inline with the grounding (68,000 is normal) and it will not effect the grounding because normal grounding is very low current, and the resistor will be invivible. Surge current, if you touch s hot lead, will be stopped by this same resistor.
Try to walk in the mountains on the sharp pebbles for some hours with very thin leather soles. It does wonders.
Four years ago I walked across the Pyrenees mountains with no shoes and a heavy time-lapse kit on my back. It hurt at times but it was worth it ;)
So earth shattering to know how disconnected we humans have become to the symbiotic relationship we were created to have with our mother. She is our womb and we are supposed to help create with her not enslave her and I think the idea of earthing is a two way street. She needs us to ground as much as we need to be grounded by her. There is a reason we were meant to do this. like a battery has a plus and negative side. Thank you for the extensive information. I am gonna go peek at your other links.. :) happy travels!
Oh my! That looks like a rather fabulous set of wheels you have there. We are currently looking at our options on the mobile vehicle front. And trying hard to earn as much crypto as I can to get something fancy looking like yours!
Hope you enjoy the other links. Wish there was an easier way to show you a 'play list' of the best articles but alas, Steemit is still a bit clunky in this respect.
Thanks for the message ;)